# Environment Variables

Here you can find useful environment variables that you can use with Multiverse:

Environment Variable Meaning
MAYA_ALLOW_OPENGL_REMOTE_SESSION=1 If you are running Maya under a remote desktop session, setting the the Maya VP2 mode to OpenGL in the Maya preferences is not sufficient, and Maya will still by default run under DirectX and Multiverse may produce a current drawing API isn't supported error. To workaround this you must also set this environment variable.

> NOTE — This variable is working only for the following Maya versions: Maya 2020.0+, Maya 2019.3.1+, Maya 2018.7+
MAYA_PYTHON_VERSION Set it to 2 to run Maya using Python 2
MV_USD_ASSET_RESOLVER Specify whether to use a USD Asset resolver. If left unset, asset resolution will be file based.
PXR_AR_DEFAULT_SEARCH_PATH Specify where a USD Asset resolver will search for assets. Note that this is typically a list of locations, and that assets will be searched first to last.
OPENSSL_CRYPTO_LIBRARY_PATH This is needed by a license server running on Linux and on macOS. Please see Licensing Pro Version.
MV_LICENSE=server@port Use it to locate the license server form a client machine, example: MV_LICENSE=<ip_or_hostname>@45634
MV_LOG=1 Use it on the license server to enable tracing of all logs on a file. The filename and path are printed on the console when running the license server if this envvar is set.

In addition, the following is an explanation for the environment variables needed to setup a correct launching environment for Multiverse.

Environment Variable O/S Meaning
MV_ROOT Location of the Multiverse installation folder on your system
MAYA_MODULE_PATH Tells Maya where to find Multiverse plug-in
PATH Where to find Multiverse binary utilities.
On Windows, it also tells where to find Multiverse libraries
PYTHONPATH Where to find Multiverse Python modules
USD_PLUG_IN_PATH Where to find USD plug-ins (such as Alembic)
DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH macOS only Where to find Libraries to load dynamically on macOS
LD_LIBRARY_PATH Linux only Where to find Libraries to load dynamically on Linux
ARNOLD_PLUGIN_PATH Where to find Arnold procedurals from Maya or Arnold standalone
MTOA_EXTENSIONS_PATH Where to find Multiverse Arnold extension for MtoA
VRAY_PLUGINS Where to find VRay procedurals from VRay Standalone
VRAY_FOR_MAYA20XY_PLUGINS With XY representing the Maya version, where to find VRay procedurals from VRay for Maya (each version)
RFM_PLUGINS_PATH Where to find Renderman procedurals
REDSHIFT_MAYAEXTENSIONSPATH Where to find Multiverse Redshift extension for Redshift for Maya
REDSHIFT_PROCEDURALSPATH Where to find Redshift procedurals

See also the various installation guides for each platform:

# On Windows

You can install Multiverse via the graphical installer (Pro Cloud version), this automatically sets an environment for when Maya is launched from the start menu / icon.

When installing from the the flat zip installation (Pro version only), or, when in need to execute Maya from the command line and/or render from a standalone rendering engine, please use/edit the multiverse-cmd.bat Windows Command Prompt batch script to set the environment.

# On Linux and macOS

On these platforms we do not provide a graphical installer. To execute Maya from the command line and/or render from a standalone rendering engine, please use/edit the multiverse-terminal.sh (bash/zsh) and multiverse-terminal.tcsh (tcsh) terminal shell scripts to set the environment.

Last Updated: 3/14/2024, 8:32:54 AM